American Milestones with Joan Lunden, and Electronic Medical Records

Electronic medical records, while not a new idea, may dramatically improve the quality of health care in the United States. The idea, to put all a patient’s medical data, from blood tests, radiology results, hospital stays and lab results to prescriptions and doctor’s notes in one centralized database, could allow physicians and health care providers across the United States to quickly access valuable information about patients, in theory leading to better diagnoses of patients’ ailments and conditions wherever they go for treatment in the U.S. Instead of patients having to recite their full medical histories to each new doctor they see, doctors and other health care providers would be able to read a patient’s medical history electronically, cutting down on miscommunication, time and errors. The television program American Milestones Joan Lunden will look at the potential benefits of electronic medical records, speaking with health care providers across the nation.

By aiding in the distribution of accurate medical information about patients, electronic medical records should help patients and medical professionals nationwide. If a person has an accident or medical emergency while traveling or on vacation in the U.S., the ER doctor would be able to pull up that person’s medical history to learn about preexisting medical conditions, the prescription drugs the person has taken, and other information, leading to fewer misdiagnoses, less adverse outcomes from bad medication combinations and better treatments and prognoses for patients. American Milestones with Joan Lunden reviews electronic medical records, looking at how they will help improve healthcare in America.